One of the greatest things about the Avant Garage is constantly looking a little deeper and finding amazing little gems like Mikey Burton’s work. Not only is Mikey’s work phenomenal and inspiring, but his process, which he so graciously shared with us, can’t help but motivate you to take your work occasionally outside of the computer. See more of Mikey’s work ///here///

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here.
While in grad school two of my friends and I were very interested in the resurgence of handmade gig-poster art. We were fascinated by this, and were eager to try our hand at it. Also, there was a lack of poster art happening in Northeast Ohio, so we took it upon ourselves to fill this void. We taught ourselves how to (poorly) screenprint and gave ourselves the moniker, Little Jacket (taken from an LCD Soundsystem song “…little jackets and borrowed nostalgia from the unremembered eighties”).

We had done about 3 posters for local venues around Cleveland. After that, one of the same venues asked us to do a poster for the upcoming Modest Mouse show. From there we started getting emails from people about doing ‘real work’.

I continued to work with Little Jacket for about 4 years in Cleveland, but at the end of 2008 I moved to Philadelphia. By day I work at 160over90, and by night I work on my own freelance projects. Sleep is for the weak.

More Current: Aesthetic Apparatus, hammerpress, Yee-Haw Industries, Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr., Studio On Fire, Dirk Fowler, Alan Kitching, Paul Sahre, Felix Sockwell, Hoefler & Frere-Jones, Office(SF), Draplin Design Co., CSA Design.

Two of my favorite design resources:
Handbook of pictorial symbols: 3,250 examples from international sources
By Rudolf Modley, William R. Myers

American Wood Type: 1828-1900
By Rob Roy Kelly (good luck finding a reasonably priced copy)

Words to live by?
WILL WORK FOR WORK

I got the chance to talk to him after the show and I gave him a few prints. I was explaining the process of letterpress to him… how it was all composed of actual wood type and then each hand cranked through antique printing equipment. After I was done then there was an awkward moment of silence… He then burst into a ramble about how he was training with an old man to become a stone mason in Italy, and then started talking about the Pantheon… He made no sense, but it blew my mind. In retrospect, he might have been messing with me, but at the time I thought it was awesome.

We found Jeremy’s work because of his feature on Hydro74′s Brass Tack. His illustrations are bizarre and macabre while remaining very aesthetically attractive. He’s a great guy with a sick body of work. Check out more of his work ///here///

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here (*especially how you chose the name ZombieYeti):
Well, first off – thanks for the stellar site & thanks for the kind words. It’s always good to know people dig what you do. Really appreciate it.
To answer your question, in short; My name is Jeremy A. Packer and I draw lots of stuff – sometimes even for money!

To answer a bit longer with some backing history & in a rambling fashion….
True story….My earliest memory of drawing was being taught by my older sister how to draw a butt. It was really just a soft variation of a ‘W’ – but she taught me how to draw one. Can’t recall why, but I decided to draw them all over the seats of my parents car – in ink. I was 2-3 yrs old at the time. And the great part was, people instantly knew what it was that I drew. So perhaps that satisfaction is what drove me to stay the course. I’d say that was the highpoint, really. It’s all been downhill ever since.

Early on in school I was labeled the ‘kid who could draw well’ – not as a result of butt murals, mind you. The attention was something I didn’t like too much, really. I was a quiet kid – didn’t like to draw attention to myself. Unfortunately over time people catch on – especially in a small rural community like my hometown. So, I tried to curb their curiosity in my ability by drawing strange & bizarre things. (Which in my town was the equivalent of drawing a street light or a t-shirt on a man mowing his yard – really.) When I got a negative response I felt a sense of accomplishment. It became sort of an inside joke to only me and a few close friends.

I continued on & after high school graduation I attended the Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus OH where I jumped from Fine Arts, to Motion Picture, to Animation. Ironically, I never took an illustration class there. I think it was kind of expected of me to go into illustration, so I went left instead of right thanks to that recurring little punk voice in my head. I graduated with a BFA in Time Based Media Studies & a minor in Fine Arts and got married to my lovely wife a year later.

I landed a job with a local dotcom start up right out of college & that helped divert my path for many years. I left that job & helped start up creative departments for a handful of tech companies. In 2004-ish I had enough of the city life & the corporate life. I wanted out & my wife obliged. We moved 300 miles away to a surrounding area of my hometown. Partially to get the kids near relatives & partially to just plain unwind. Built a house by a cornfield & never looked back.

In spring of 2009 I decided to get my head out of my ass a bit and focus on feeling like an 8 yr old again. At the same time I got contacted by an old friend from Jr. High who said he had gotten into the world of art because of me. He wrote me a really flattering message & wondered why I wasn’t doing what he was. He encouraged me to throw my hat in the illustration ring. He also  encouraged me to get my work online & start being social. So I created a twitter account & started tweeting as I went. I’ve never used twitter to seek work – but it’s been a great way to get exposure for my work. It was slow going – but over time I started getting noticed. I found that the illustration community in general, and especially in my experience with twitter, is a very selfless community of really great people. I’ve gotten some great support & advice from heavy hitters the likes of Hydro74 & Godmachine early on. They’ve been right there all along nudging me, supporting me, & encouraging me. It’s really great – and as long as you don’t constantly tweet the mundane details of your life (plates of food, I’m looking at you) twitter can be a valuable asset to an unknown illustrator.

AS FOR THE NAME: The name was a result of my appearance after pouring myself into my work at all odd hours. I ‘m a tall guy – 6’4″ – so take that base & add an odor & unkept appearance & you get an unkept beast.  I think my wife may have been the one to bring this up. – but due to my odd hours I was sometimes a bit like a zombie during the day. This, of course inspired a few pieces early on. ‘Zombie Kitten Eating Yeti’ was sort of a joke I threw out there. I mean, what’s worse than a Zombie Yeti? Why, one that feeds on kittens of course. …And then ‘Zombie Nose-Picking Yeti’ came a couple weeks later. From those 2 pieces I started getting noticed a bit thanks to the wonders of the internets & the Twitters by then the name stuck.

Walk us through your process from idea to implementation.
I usually start with a cold shower. I like to lather up my junk and wax… oh, too much?

Seriously, inspiration comes from just about every minute of consciousness for me. The world we live in is really quite hilarious. A very sad hilarious, mind you. That’s what drives my ideas. It’s that inner struggle to make sense of your reality that usually ends in a joke. It’s a coping mechanism perhaps. I’ll ask my therapist and get back to you on that.

I’m always writing ideas down & sketching ideas. Probably too much… many just get overshadowed by a more recent one. Occasionally I have one that gets to my desk and won’t leave there until I get it done. Those are usually the best ones – not the most well liked, mind you – but the most satisfying ones personally. Once I have a concept I start to chip away at it to get to the core & refine the feel rather than the look.

As for workflow,  I’m 100% digital 99% of the time according to 75% of my work. I work using a Cintiq on a windows PC. I usually do a fast & rough layout sketches in Sketchbook Pro. I seriously limit myself to 15 minutes unless it’s a complicated piece . Thanks to my days in animation, i find gesture is a fantastic way for me to communicate my ideas up front. From that sketch I move on to Illustrator for the digi-inking. I use the blob tool and 2-3 different sized brushes for it. At this point I do plenty of redrawing & refining of the details. This is where I have the most fun & most torment. After the line work is done I usually do a mix of Illustrator & lastly Photoshop for the color & texture.

After all of that I usually throw the wax & pubes away & soak my bits in some ether….

Tell us about your involvement with BrassTack.
You are referring to the Brass Tack Apparel line by Hydro74/Joshua Smith available online at www.brasstackapparel.com where you can purchase ‘Your Mom’ in both Letterpress Print and amazingly soft & comfortable, top selling, American Apparel Shirt form? THAT one? Oh, it’s quite funny really. Hydro74 was really coked up with some of his usual hookers at his golden mansion under the sea. They were snorting with million dollar bills off of Nike mirrors and the one hooker said something about a cock smoker… wait, wait… it was either that or he sent me an email and asked me specifically for the Your Mom piece? … In FACT, he may have even said something about how all of his AAA clients should look me up too. I can’t recall at this time… but it sounds like a good idea

Seriously though, Joshua Smith is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. (I’m available Josh) Honestly not a bad bone in his body. (I could really use some big $ work, Josh)  I think he asked me to be a part as part of The Brass Tack as part of his philanthropic work.(I have a wife and kids, Josh) … Like I said – he’s been a great supporter of mine & I can’t thank him enough. His limitless talent makes me sick, mind you. But as a person – he’s aces.

What’s your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?
Depends on your definitions, but cartoons & videogames probably manage to influence me more than anything else. Mainly because I’m not looking for it at the time. Those are 2 things I do to relax. In fact, if I ever do have free time – which is rare these days – I’ll play a game before I watch TV (I’ve never seen an episode of Lost – shhhh). I like good movies – so I don’t watch movies often (*zing!* Take that Hollywood!)

What’s the story behind your highly publicized feud with fellow artist Joshua Belanger?
Listen, I didn’t want to get into this – but you brought it so I have no choice… Joshua and I were once good chums. We’d pal around being chummy and just genuinely chum around every chance we got. Things seemed genuinely bully. He often spoke of his desire to professionally create “Soft-core Beetle Bailey Fan-Fic novellas” and I’d share with him my thoughts on why that was the greatest idea I’d ever heard. Unfortunately, at a recent playdate he mixed some of my yellow & blue playdough and he refuses to apologize. Joshua, I know you’re reading this – so listen up – go #$%^ yourself, prick!

What are some of your influences as to your style?
Davinci, Monet, Roy Lichtenstien, Hanna Barberra, Iwao Takamoto, Ed Bennedict, Toth…Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, later Frank Miller, Mike Mignola… Friz Freling, Chuck Jones…Early Daguerrotypes are influenceing many pieces at the moment…Fellow modern illustrators… Seriously, I could name a few hundred…

I think of my style as a bit schizophrenic depending on the intent – but  ultimately as the result of an impatient-mongoloid-bastard-love-child of Ed Bennedict & Neal Adams (you know they’d do it if they were able). At least that seems to work in my mind…

Words to live by?
Work harder. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Everything else will fall in line behind these two.
“…And Knowing is half the battle. Yo Joe!”

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration?
Computer Arts & Computer Arts Projects are a must for modern designers & illustrators. Seriously – it’s the ‘desert island pick’ (feel free to quote me, Computer Arts! …And interview me! ….And feature my work in your fine magazine! …Call me!), Juxtapoz,  & Hi Fructose are all fervently sought out every month as well. Other than those I really don’t read mags too much.

As for blogs; the Avant Garage, of course! Not sure if it counts, but Dropular is a great place to dig… Also Grain Edit, Ape on the Moon are two I’m really trying to check regularly right now… then there are staples like Cartoon Brew, John K’s Blog, & Cartoon Modern …all full of fantastic stuff that inspire me in different ways.

What’s your personal favorite piece of yours? What’s its story?
Not sure that I have one. I tend to ‘almost like’ just about every piece I do. I can never bring myself to love them – I always think I can improve & try to do just that. I also feel like I have miles to go to reach the point where I do work that deserves respect. But if I had to pick one – I’d say the piece I did for Saulvation makes me happy. It’s sort of my knee-jerk take on societal obsessions with vacations in general (because I’m bitter that I never have time to take one). But I dig it because I got to draw flamingos & an orange. Hadn’t done either before…

What’s your all-time favorite piece of art or design? (*not created by you)
Today? That’s easy – High Dreams “Daigonkin Mazinger Z” 12″ Metal Action FIgure… Seriously.

What’s your current creative obsession?
Depends on the day – but drawing things that make me laugh seems to prevail. Style & subject are ever changing, but the underlying elements that appeal to me are always derived from self first, and subject second.

Can you touch your nose with your tongue?
Yes. Yes I can.

Anything you want to say in closing?
I’d encourage anyone whose serious about getting in this industry to just start getting your work seen. Get it out there on the interwebbernet. Don’t be shy. And look me up on twitter, I’d be glad to answer any questions or lend a hand. www.twitter.com/zombieyeti

In closing…It was Bruce McCullough (of Kids IN The Hall Fame) who had the great line ‘Cynicism is my whiskey. And I had a few” – that line pretty much says it all…

I’ve always been into abstract graffiti characters.  Artists like Dave Kinsey and Andy Howell have even had a very direct impact on my own work, so it’s probably no surprise that when I saw a piece by Christian Mugnai I was in awe.  You can see more of his work <<here>>

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:
My name is Christian Mugnai. I emigrated to South Africa with my family in the late 80′s from Italy.  I still have a great sense of pride for my mother country, but my foster mother South Africa has nurtured and inspired me for the last 22 years. Durban is a small city on the east coast of South Africa; things don’t move incredibly fast here, but I believe its South Africa’s incubator of some serious talent. It is a city of diversity, that houses people from a variety of different cultures, so it’s not short of inspiration for any artist living here.

I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. Drawing has always been that spark in my life that’s fueled my inner creative furnace which I still cannot put out. I initially studied Branding and Advertising and quickly realized that although it would be a great field to pave a foundation for a future in design, it would never really satisfy my craving to constantly express myself through illustration.

I enrolled to gain a traditional Graphic Design Diploma which really allowed me to develop my illustrative skills as well as gain an understanding of sound design philosophies. I furthered my studies and obtained a degree, and focused primarily on drawing and illustration. I’ve been working ever since, mainly freelancing, but I’ve always looked for short contracts on projects with reputable studios to gain further experience as well as to learn from older mentors in the game.

It’s apparent that you’ve been influenced by graffiti and street art. Can you tell us how you were able to transition your style into a career?
I’ve been attracted to graffiti from the moment I first saw it. I’ve never been a graffiti artist, but have immense respect for the art form as well as the artists. Many of these guys have never had art training and are completely self taught, which makes their work that much more interesting. The graffiti scene here in Durban is not big at all, but its definitely growing. Two of my friends, I believe, are some of the best writers in South Africa; ‘PHINK’ is very well known for his characters and ‘CADE’ for his tight lettering.

I think the single most prominent characteristic evident in my style which is influenced by graffiti, is the strong outlines and flat colour I use in my illustration. I love the boldness aspect of it. It also forces you to be very detailed in your work.

I have a full time occupation as a designer, so all the work that you see, is free of any restricting briefs, and I like to keep the two very separate. Keeping the two separate has allowed me to constantly focus on my personal work and achieve my own distinct style with out any kind of commercial prostitution. If clients ask me to create a MUGNAI piece of work, I tell them that it’s now art not a design solution, this allows me to keep free of any restricted boundaries set by them, and allows me to create to the best of my abilities. These clients are very few and far between and probably every creative’s dream, but they are out there.

What’s your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?
Outside of art and music, I believe in the old saying,”Healthy body, healthy mind”.  I think a balanced healthy lifestyle, with a good exercise routine, is what your mind needs to clear its self of daily stress and clutter, in order for you to function to the best of your abilities.  I find that while I’m exercising the creative floodgates open.

The other form of inspiration surrounds me in every day life here in Durban, like I mentioned earlier, I share my city with people from a myriad of different cultures and so inspiration here is in abundance.  I suck in everything from my surroundings even subconsciously. Whenever I have to work on something, I draw my inspiration from an image bank in my brain.

What are some of your influences as to your style?
My subject matter is inspired by the place I live in, my style is influenced by many experiences and things I’ve followed from an early age. Most of my youth was spent with my nose buried in 2000AD and Batman comics. Sometimes not even to read them, but to analyse the artists’ style and weight of lines they would use when only working in black and white. If you can master black and white inking, you’re the man.

So with a love for graffiti and comics, one can definitely see now how my work carries those elements through.

Words to live by?
Well, my words to live by, are to never stop, prostitute or neglect doing what you love, for anybody or anything. To never feel you have arrived to a point in your life when you think you’ve learned enough, always keep evolving push the envelope of creativity, and when that’s done, push it further.

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration?
With the Internet there are so many points of reference for inspiration, it’s hard to mention one or two. But I’m always on Flikr and have recently joined a new artist network called Behance. These two platforms are overflowing with talented artists, some known some unknown, it doesn’t really matter if the work is good.

What’s your personal favorite piece of your own work? Tell us a story behind it.
I don’t have one favourite piece in particular. I do tend to like my most recent stuff – I think that’s pretty normal for any artist. I recently created a poster for a traveling show called “City Slickers”, over a hundred artists nationally and internationally submitted a piece of work. The brief was to portray your city in any way you wanted. My city is gearing up to host the biggest sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup. Being a soccer maniac, I wanted to portray the excitement and honour the people from Durban are feeling, and rejoice in the unity this will bring our country. I called it “The City is Alive”. In this piece I really tried to portray some of the things I see in every day life here in Durban, and focus on those very things that makes us different to the rest of the world.

What’s your all-time favorite piece of art or design? (*not created by you)
Wow, toughest question all day. I think if I had to put it down to one it would probably be the graffiti I saw in Rome, wall to wall masterpieces some 3 to 4 metres high. I think that was one of the few times I’ve been taken aback by such amazing talent and work. From their characters and their amazingly manipulated lettering to the colouring and sheer scale they worked at, I was left in awe.

What’s your current creative obsession?
My current creative obsession is to get my work out there, and for people to take notice of it. Not for any monetary gain but to share what I do and the story I have to tell from a small little town at the bottom of Africa, with the rest of the world. I would really like to get my work into the States and Europe, and maybe collaborate with someone from there. All in all I would love to be able to do what I do full time, without having to rely on random freelance work. And finally to never stop evolving and define my style.

I fell in love with McBess’ work a couple years ago. It hit home so hard. His aesthetic is right down my alley. I love the dark, vintage, original-mickey-mouse vibe his work gives off. The incredible stories that are portrayed and the worlds he transport you into are alluring while also being very creepy and disturbing. I made it out to his first U.S. show at Rotofugi with Netherland. You have to see the pieces up close to truly grasp these scenes. Phenomenal!

He has also, more recently, been creating music with The Dead Pirates and made one of the most amazing music videos for their song “Wood”… An Absolute MUST SEE!

Matthieu is a great dude and we’re extremely honored to feature his work here today in the garage and to share our conversation with you all.

Check out his website ///here///

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

My name is matthieu and I’m a guy who spend his time drawing and some other stuff . I’ve started as an 3D animator and thanks to a really bad team spirit  I switch to directing and illustration where I don’t get told what to do .

What’s your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

Sex and food , it’s very basic , oh and childhood experience , they’re the most colorfull souvenir you can have wich is why I only do black and white , there’s probably something extremly poetic in what I just say , that’s just the kind of guy I am , a pooet .

What’s your go-to source for music that inspires your work?

Bit of everything really , but I think my images reflect some kind of mix between motown and rock and roll , 70′s music mainly , when it feels like having beer and bbq all day while playing guitar with a naked lady playing the rhodes .

What’s your personal favorite piece of work you’ve created?

I think it might be “jardin” or “godster” , I’m trying to re-do pieces like this but with ink now and it’s a freaking nightmare .

Your works read as amazing stories. Any piece have a particularly personal story to you?

Well all of them , they’re all about what I do , all the characters are representation of people that I know . Maybe my last pieces , like granny’s hat ,are even more closer to the reality, because they’re were done at my parent’s place and they’re a kind of journal of what I did there .

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration?

FFFFound.com is one of my favorite , I had the chance of getting an invitation  and I’ve been using for inspiration for 2 years of more now , tastefull pictures and images about anything really . I’ve got some artist that I follow but mostly I’m wasting my time of really stupid website .

What ‘s your all-time favorite piece of art or design? (*not created by you)

Hum , probably one of the oil painted landscape done by Dave cooper , with all the naked fat ladies , the colors and the subject are amazing.

What’s your current creative obsession?

I’m trying to master my rotring to get the exact same effect that I do with photoshop and it’s a shit load of work .

Thanks for your time Matthieu!

-theAG-

“no prob it was my pleasure. “

Alberto Russo’s work first caught my eye while skimming some of Cargo Collective’s featured sites.  I was drawn in by his dramatic use of line and color.  His portraiture is obviously top notch but his talent doesn’t stop there.  Russo’s an amazing logo designer as well as an accomplished graffiti artist.  You can see more of his work <<here>> and be sure to checkout his design studio <<here>>.

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

I am an Italian illustrator and creative director living in Lausanne, Switzerland. I started to draw at the same age as the other children but I kept with it.  At 16, I started writing graffiti and after training as a graphic designer, I started  my own design studio, Areadesign, in 2000.  Since 2009, I’ve really been focusing on my illustration and typography work.

What’s your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?
The dreams. I really do have a lot of dreams. I dream often, and I’m finding new concepts and new drawing techniques. Sometimes I remember some, sometimes not.  My two little daughters are a great, they are an inexhaustible source of inspiration too!

What are some of your influences as to your style?
Graffiti artists like Seen, Doze Green, Mode 2. Artists like Frazetta, Aaron Horkey, Carlos Nine and many others.

What’s your personal favorite piece of work you’ve created?
I have no “favorite piece”.  I try to find solutions by mixing three elements together: concept, technique and style.  Sometimes the result is fine and I’m happy, until I start to find the next solution…

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.
I really love Behance Network. It’s a platform with amazing artists.  I’m also enjoy watching the KDU Blog.

What ‘s your all-time favorite piece of art or design. (*not created by you)
I think it’s the work of Michelangelo at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The biggest “graffiti” I’ve ever seen.

What’s your current creative obsession.
I’m always trying to find a new way to create even stronger visuals.

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here

My name is Martijn van Dam. I’m a 29 year old dutch graphic designer based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Besides my daytime job as a designer at interactive agency Momkai, I spend part of my part time making artwork under the alias of Super Silo. My work varies from Sci-Fi inspired to a more cartoony style with distinct color schemes and layouts.

It’s apparent that you’ve been influenced by both science fiction and music. Can you tell us how you were able to transition your style into a career?

About ten years ago I developed an interest in Drum&Bass music and got involved as some would call it, the Dutch Drum&Bass scene. After I quit the DJ / Producer ambitions that I had before, I thought making music related graphics would be a nice way to keep actively in touch with the music that I still love. Since I was already known as a graphic designer the organizers of Haarlem-based Spektrum XL and the Champion Sound parties from Leiden asked me to create flyers for their events.

What\’s your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

Besides music and art, video games are a good source of inspiration. I play my fair amount of games and especially  cartoon and science fiction based games are a good source of inspiration. Other sources of inspiration are movies and historical things like old race cars or war machines.

What are some of your influences as to your style?

I think a bit of the work flow in my style is inspired by concept art and work by other illustrators. When I think of video games it could go from the brilliant Mass Effect to Viva Pinata.

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration?

Blog wise: Behance.net, ilovenewwork.com, Gizmodo.com, Kotaku.com

Magazine wise: Empire, GamesTM, Edge (although I’m not that much of a magazine-guy)

What’s your personal favorite piece of your own work? Tell us a story behind it.

It’s hard to point out a specific work. But I’m still proud of the work I did on the Chameleon flyer with the Octopus eating a candy from a candy-transporting-ship. It was the first creative process that I’ve captured on video and I got loads of positive response from that one. Oh and I still like the way it turned out. An other piece that jumps to mind is the recent flyers that I’ve did for Champion Sound. They represent Atari-style pack shots and stick very close to my personal taste.

What’s your all-time favorite piece of art or design? (*not created by you)

The best video game franchise to date: Mass Effect by Bioware (Yes, I’m a bit of a nerd, haha)

What’s your current creative obsession?

Doing the stuff that I do at the moment using Photoshop and Illlustrator.

Words to live by?

Determine what you’re capable of, create your own style and try to deliver original work.

Thanks a ton Martijn!  Truly inspiring. – The AG

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

Hey! I’m Bernat Fortet Unanue. I was born in Barcelona. I’m 21 year old so there is still a long way to go, I’d say im closer to my birth than my death, so I should mention my bloodstripe. I come from two very different families, on one hand, my mother, a fashion designer and fiber artist. She has a very artist talented sisters and father, I’d like to say that composition and chromatic knowledge come by her. On the other hand, my father was economist but such a great lover of modern architecture. That meant order and concentration. His father… I’d like to call him an inventor, such a wise man. So I’m the mix of these blood, someone who love learning and making beautiful stuff.

Actually I’m working in Kotoc, a really creative and talented animation studio, at the same time I’m studying Digital Design at ESDi. Both at Barcelona

What’s your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

I’ve always loved sport and I’ve been fascinated by those great athletes pushing the limits of the human body and mind. I try to follow their steps and apply that same overcoming illusion to my work and my learning process.

What’s your personal favorite piece of work you’ve created?

My favorite piece of work is always the next one.

I always try to apply all the knowledge of the last project to the next one, thus making me progress further and faster. Anyway, I’m currently working on a motion graphics piece which mixes CG, Typography, Photo and design elements which should be out in a few month. Currently that one is my favorite. But if I had to chose from a finished one I probably would be the September 2009 Make Something Cool Every Day series. http://bernatfortet.com/#91884/MakeSomethingCoolEveryDay-Sep-2009

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.

I’m a huge inspiration nerd… afraid to lose “the image, the color, the composition that would twist my mind”. Somtimes I wonder if so much inspiration take time away for creating. But there is so many great artists around to learn from that makes me keep searching.

I mainly visit ISO50, Fubiz, Motionographer, But Does it Float, Dropuar, Brand New, CGSociety, Insect54 Flickr Stream and AisleOne and now Avant Garage

I also try to keep track of these inspirations in my blog: http://blog.bernatfortet.com

What ‘s your all-time favorite piece of art or design. (*not created by you)

Damn… That is a very difficult question… but I’ll go for the classics: the first watercolor by Kandinksy, which was untitled. It has such an awsome color composition and ordered chaos. Every time I see it, I stare it for some minutes trying to understand what makes it so awsome. Making me wonder if, someday, I’ll be able to reach a little of his greatness.

What’s your current creative obsession.

I started my short career as thinking I’d be a 3D modeler. But as since I went to college I discovered a huge universe: Photography, Graphic Design, Web Design, Typography, Video, Coding, Interactivity and Writing and Scripting. It’s really hard for me to take out any of these paths, so  i’m trying to create things which mixes all of them. Recenlty I’ve discovered that Videogame design (as nerdy as it can sound) can mix all of them, sincerely, ALL of them. So I’m focusing on it.

Thanks Bernat!

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:

I’m a freelance illustrative designer based in East London. I’ve been designing and doodling for the past 3 years. Before that I was Creative Director at an online retailers. Over the past 3 years I have been specialising in apparel graphics and am now moving into editorial and poster design. Everything I’ve done has been self taught so I’ve had to find out the hard and sometimes the long or wrong way to do things technically but I’ve got there in the end! I work from my studio at home and my day is divided between work and looking after my two French Bulldogs Lilah and Ozzy. They told me they’d get mad if I didn’t give them a shout out!

It’s apparent that you’ve been influenced by graffiti and street art. Can you tell us how you were able to transition your style into a career?

Yeah graffiti and lo-brow art have always been a source of inspiration to me and my earlier work was quite heavily influenced by that style – I’ve been moving further away from that kind of aesthetic as time has worn on, but I think for someone of my generation it is almost impossible to turn your back on it completely. In terms of how I managed to forge a career out of my style, that’s not something I have ever consciously thought about really. I’ve just done my thing and hoped that people like it. I guess the people that have bought my art/designs were looking for something whimsical, playful and quite stylised – I guess those are common characteristics in what I do

What’s your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?

Outside of music, which is probably my number one source of inspiration, I would have to say the internet. I was a really late bloomer when it came to computers and the internet. You might even say that I was a bit of a Luddite. But once I got switched onto the net I couldn’t get enough of it. It’s like the most enormous magazine that you can never get the end of. If I ever get stuck for inspiration I just trawl the web for a couple of hours – that never fails

What are some of your influences as to your style?

Like I said, the first influences were from graffiti and street art. I also went though a period of being obsessed with early skateboard graphics. Right now I would say that I’m more interested in vintage cartoons, propaganda posters, and the psychedelic style of Heinz Edelmann and Peter Max.

Words to live by?

Never give up

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration?

Too many to mention them all but  - ffffound.com, piccsy.com, threadless.com, grainedit.com, Dazed & Confused, I.D., flickr.com, highsnobiety.com, society6.com – to name a few

What’s your personal favorite piece of your own work? Tell us a story behind it.

I think my favourite right now is probably the ‘Bon Voyage’ piece. It is the first time that I have really let loose with textures and I liked how it turned out. I think I am definitely going to try to use more textures in my work from now on

What’s your all-time favorite piece of art or design? (*not created by you)

I think that would have to be Picasso’s ‘Guernica’

What’s your current creative obsession?

My creative obsession at the moment is handmade typography. It is the area of my work that needs the most practice and I’m obsessed with people that do it well.

I met Otis while competing against him in the 2009 Cut&Paste Chicago event. He was my pick for winning it after I was eliminated in the first round. His work is so unique and refreshing. Bold, strong lines and character & hand-typography designs that are unexpected and whimsical. Check out more of his work ///here///

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here.
Well, although I now reside in Chicago, I was born and raised in Tampa, FL. I think moving up here right out of high school is one of the more visible steps I’ve taken toward becoming a better artist. Something about a harsh and sudden change that stimulates my creativity, I guess I can say that the gradual change of just living life has brought me to where I am today.

Walk us through your process from idea to implementation.
I usually begin any project with a loose sketchfest, meaning I just doodle around until some shape or line or smudge on the page gives me an idea and then I try to build on that idea by drawing more refined sketches until that idea has a very strong concept. Once the concept is there I try to make it dance. Give it a silly title or mustache, something that takes your mind off the idea and focusses it on the energy of the idea…the playtime. I rarely ever use pencil or erase…I like the unplanned lines that get in the way, they remind me of old ideas…and they give my drawings foundation. And when I’m in the digital world I flip flop, my execution becomes about a search for precision and perfection. Something about all the ones and zeros floating around.

What’s your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?
Movie trailers. Hands down. I wish I could just watch them all day, one after the other. When I get in slumps or bored with a train of thought I just flip on a few trailers and I’m always given a different perspective on things.

What are some of your influences as to your style?
Hand drawn typography, screen printed posters, anime, Swiss / German design.

Words to live by?
“I’m guided by a force my greater than luck.” – Lucas, EMPIRE RECORDS

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration?
OKAYGREAT.COM , BEHANCE.NET , COMPUTERARTS.CO.UK , BLOG.YIMMYAYO.COM , MAESTROKNOWS.COM , JOHNNYCUPCAKES.COM , JAMESJEAN.COM

What’s your personal favorite piece of yours? What’s its story?
My favorite piece of mine is actually a piece that I haven’t had in my possession in a long time. Back in 2004, I was working a lot more in abstract paintings than illustration. Though I still drew on the side, I was more fixated on finding wood and painting on it when I could. During this time I came across a bunch of abandoned tabletops in alleys, one in particular was the perfect semi rounded rectangle with just the right amount of character. I dragged it home and stared at it for weeks, conjuring up the magic to paint on such a perfect specimen. I eventually thought of a starting point and the painting began. It turned out to be such a beautiful painting that a friend of mine wanted to hang it in her house…a tabletop! So she did. She’s even moved and rehung it. Anyhow, it’s my favorite.

What’s your all-time favorite piece of art or design? (*not created by you)
That’s a very difficult question. Immediately a few came to mind, but I guess there is one that overrides the rest. In 2007, James Jean was commissioned by Prada to do some work, amongst those pieces he created a wallpaper with dimensions of 17 x 200 ft. That wallpaper is the most beautiful, stylistic display of illustration I have ever scene. Here is a link: http://lunaspace.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/pradawallpaper.jpg

What’s your current creative obsession?
Installation and sculpture work. Somehow my style is bending into real life and I’m obsessed with manipulating it into very large sculptures. Stay tuned.

We can’t wait to see your sculpture work man! Sure to be sick!

-the AG-

James Lalropui Keivom said, “It’s weird that photographers spend years or even a whole lifetime, trying to capture moments that added together, don’t even amount to a couple of hours.”  It’s true. Freezing time is the photographers gift.   I, personally, tend to enjoy photographs that make me feel as if I could have been there.

Elizabeth Zongolowicz seems to take that  “no frills – all feeling” approach to photography.  Though she edits her photos as any photographer would there tends to be a sense of purity in each piece.  Her photos aren’t suffocated by Photoshop effects or extraneous manipulation. There’s a certain casualness to her work that makes the viewer feel as if they were standing beside her the moment the shutter clicked.  To me that’s what a good photography is all about!

You can contact Elizabeth and view more of her work here.

Tell us a little about yourself and what steps you took to get here:
I was born and (mostly) raised in Terre Haute, IN. The kind of town you’re happy to see in your rear-view mirror when you’re young, but now I miss it when I’m gone and I absolutely love coming home for a visit. I’m infatuated with the old buildings, history, and trains of Terre Haute. Hearing a train’s whistle puts a smile on my face. My mom lives in the historical district and I love those old Victorian-style houses. I’m a sucker for vintage anything. Everything was so much better-made back then, my generation won’t have any antiques because nothing we make will last that long! I think my love of all things “old” ties into my photography, my desire to create timeless images that will still look good years from now.

I always knew, even in kindergarten, that I was going to be an “artist”. Being creative and being able to draw made me stand out, it was what I was good at, so it became my “thing”. I got into photography when I was in high school but I decided that I wanted to be a graphic designer. Which is what I went to college for. But it got to be too frustrating, I was over people telling me to change this or that, only to decide it was fine how it was originally. I ended up moving to Hawaii when I was 22. I was a barista and I was doing graphic design on the side. Then one day I had a friend who managed a bikini shop down from the coffee shop that I worked at say to me, “Hey, you like photography, will you shoot these girls for the shop?”. I got a  custom-made bikini out of it and some nice photos. Things just kinda went from there.

What’s your gear breakdown and what would you bring if you had to pick one mandatory piece of equipment for a shoot?
I shoot with two Nikon D300 cameras. I pretty much always have a 17-55mm f/2.8 lens on one and a 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens on the other. I also keep a wide angle 12-24mm f/4 and 50mm f/1.8 in my bag, but I don’t like to change lenses while shooting weddings and portraits (my main gigs), so they get a lot less use. I have two Nikon SB800 flashes, and I recently bought more memory cards, bringing me to a total of 72 gigabytes worth. I hate dumping cards in the middle of an event, so now I hopefully won’t have to. An Expodisc for tricky white balance situations. That’s it, more or less. If I had to pick one mandatory piece of equipment (besides a camera body) it would be the 17-55mm, it’s my work horse.

What’s your go-to source of inspiration outside of art or music?
Mmmm… just people. People’s faces are inspiring. Pretty girls and wrinkly old men are good.

What are some of your influences as to your style?
Wedding-wise Jessica Claire was a big influence in the beginning. The H. Cartier Bresson quote, “Sharpness is a bourgeois concept,” you can’t get too wrapped up in sharpness. The feeling a photo invokes is so much more important.

Words to live by?
Concerning photography? Don’t assume you’ll get a second chance to shoot something. If you see a shot, don’t get lazy or shy about taking it. I’ve definitely lost my fair share. Some of my favorite photos were last-second, on-a-whim shots. Like the photo of the girl in the mini top hat. That was taken in a bar bathroom mirror while she was getting ready with her burlesque troop. I have no idea if she saw me taking her photo or if she would have cared, but I definitely had a moment of hesitation. I raised my camera and took two quick shots, and I’m absolutely glad I did. I was shooting jpeg and my white balance was set for sunlight, making the photo totally orange, so I converted it to B&W and added more grain, which I think worked better in the end anyway. So just take the shot. It might not be technically perfect, but it just might work.

What blogs or magazines do you turn to for creative inspiration.
American Photo magazine is great, awesome images and interesting articles. The blog photolovecat.blogspot.com always has these great entries that just about any photographer could learn from. And this is embarrassing, but I love watching America’s Next Top Model. I love seeing the end shots. Sometimes the photos look like they’re going to be so underwhelming, and then they turn out awesome! Mostly. And I like seeing how the photographers interact with the their subjects.

What’s your personal favorite photo of yours? Tell us the story behind it.
Hm, tricky. I really love the one on here that I shot in my sister’s car. That was after a really late night of hanging out. Normally I wouldn’t have even had my camera on me, but I’ve been trying to take more photos that are for me, and not just commissioned by other people. Anyway, I just think that photo is really easy to relate to, who hasn’t had a late night driving down a deserted street, in the wee hours of the morning? Another favorite is one I took in college of my brother drawing in his room late one evening. Basically it’s a silhouette shot with his desk lamp behind him. It was taken with B&W film, I don’t know what it is, but film has something digital doesn’t. Can’t explain it.

What ‘s your all-time favorite piece of art or photography. (*not created or shot by yourself)
Oh jeez. Let’s see. I remember when I was young I saw some Ansel Adams prints at a relatives house and they blew me away. Google “Aspens, Northern New Mexico, 1958″ to see what I mean. Those trees are practically glowing. If you can make trees look that good, you are a real artist. Those are images that have stuck with me.

What’s your current creative obsession.
Beer? Sometimes you just have to let go.

Thanks Elizabeth.  It’s always a pleasure.

-The AG-

Hello,
I live in Nashville TN, and as you may or may not know we were hit with some severe floods just last week. The damage has been extensive and now the real relief work of rebuilding many neighborhoods is underway. Also numerous “Music City” landmarks sustained heavy damage such as the Grand Ole Opry, which was in about 4-5 feet of water.

In an attempt to help raise money I have illustrated this poster and it is for sale online here: http://www.wedcandy.com/flood/

All of the money that is paid for the poster (not including shipping) goes to the The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s flood relief work.

Learn More about the Flood: http://nashvillest.com/

Alex Pearson
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familytree
design + illustration
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615.969.8798
www.familytreedesign.net